YES I CAN GET ON SCHEDULE finally.
Today was of course, the early May Bank Holiday. Well known for mediocre weather and, uh... the banks being closed, and I am not ashamed to say I have done very little today at all. Most of the Bank Holiday fun was based on last night. In fact, 24 hours ago I was almost completely trashed on ale, dancing my life away with a woman I'd never met (and never learned the name of), so today has been the recovery day...
Actually, it's been a long, loooooooong weekend. Friday was a 24 hour ride of insanity, Saturday found me paralysed by my hangover, and then Sunday culminated in the beer festival in Cubert. I have drank a lot of booze over the past three days, and I do not regret one single drop.
It's been a really decent day, actually. It's been warmer than it has been sunnier, but that's no shame in itself. As I said, I have literally done... nothing. Sat around, stumbled in and out of the house on short trips for food and SOYA MILK that's right I've turned to the dark side now I'm like full-on lactose intolerant and have had quite enough of feeling ill...but let's not dwell on this after all because this is supposed to be about how much FUN I've been having! I have actually found it less than easy wandering about town having danced danced DANCED the night away the the Cubert beer festival! This was an amazingly brilliant evening culminated for me in the arrival for a live Ska band at about half past nine. By this time, I was pretty hashed anyway, some maybe 4 or 5 pints into the night... I've written about live Ska before, and even when I think about the 100 hours I put into the Ska arrangement of Zadok the Priest for Music Tech a-level it still reminds me of that indescribably excellent sensation. I don't care that I technically shouldn't dance because it's bad for my already heavily taxed joints but the hell with it I don't give a damn shit because I enjoy myself so much. It's like, I don't need to think about anything else. I got torn away from the front of the skank pit after about an hour where I had attracted the attention of fine looking young lady, primarily because of my insane dancing skills. And maybe even my hat. I know that Streetlight Manifesto are on their way to Bristol at the end of May...and I just can't afford to see them! My heart, she is broken.
Lots of great beer, decent food, great dancing. Sounds perfect. I possibly don't need much else in my life.
We got back to Truro, in time for the gay karaoke, or 'garaoke', as it were, where of course I rolled out the family-friendly party special of 'Take on Me' by A-ha, which I learned off by heart from the Reel Big Fish cover, funnily enough...
The Bank holiday today has been a fine rest from everything. We even got the night off from evensong (time off for good behaviour, my favourite time), so I've actually spent most of today here, in the living room in the Scholary. I wrote yesterday's post, ate copiously, drank a lot of hot vinegar (my voice is pretty knackered after the weekend!), and watched a load of films! I've finally watched Iron Man 2, and saw Michael Bay's Armageddon again. Say what you like, but I will always see Chaplin whenever I look at Robert Downey Jr. It's been a very long time since I've seen Chaplin, but it stays with me to this very day.
It's time for bed now, after a long long weekend. I should have spent a great deal of time cleaning up but... Life's too short, right?
That's all. For now.
Tuesday, 7 May 2013
Monday, 6 May 2013
Fit and Healthy
I'm not going to lie; I hardly put any effort at all into staying healthy. I hardly watch my nutritional intake, I often drink quite heavily, and barely exercise. So how do I feel happy about my health?
For years and years I have been underweight. In fact, I went through an episode a few months ago where I almost lost all the weight I'd spent the last year putting on, but I've managed to recover since. The thing is, I have an extremely high metabolic rate, just one of the many blessings of being hyperactive (alongside recurring insomnia, high blood pressure &c &c...). Boiled down to fact though, it basically means I can eat whatever the hell I want, when I want and not have to worry about my waistline. Actually, I have to consider in the opposite direction - if I miss out meals I drop pounds distressingly quickly!
However, I have managed to reclaim some weight after the long wilderness years of having to have everything taken in and looking like a sack tied round the middle when I finally find a belt. Part of the reason I started wearing three piece suits was to hide my terrifyingly thin waistline. I have never been anorexic by any respect, but for saying I'm a good 5' 9", I ought to be more than ten stone at least. Having wasted years of my life looking for 26" waists, it feels good to finally be in adult sizes... Aha! I now actually have to deal with half of my trousers and shorts actually being to small for me, which is an odd sensation to say the least.
How do I maintain this svelte and desirable physique? Well, to begin with, it is not desirable. Wiry rather than muscular, and without much, if anything in the way of fat. I like to think that actually I eat a pretty balanced diet overall, I don't have the world's highest fruit and or vegetable intake by any respect (especially in comparison to the vegetarian girls I have dated in the past, I mean who eats tofu anyway). I eat a lot in the way of stir fry, because it means I can basically control the texture and amount of vegetables I eat. Things like onions, leeks, calabrese, mushrooms and very rarely carrot are thrown in to my usual favourites of meat (usually turkey) and rice. I'm not really a fan of boiled green vegetables, especially brussell sprouts, and can't really stand carrots either (orange death sticks AWAY WITH THEM). I also eat a lot of curried food, and specialise in making my own onion paste by hand, or with the benefit of a food processor to grind up onion, garlic and ginger (in unmeasured amounts, as long as there's more onion in the balance it all works out in the end). I actually haven't made curry by hand for a long time. Poor form! However, whenever I do make curry I always pad it out with veg, things like onions quartered and thrown in, maybe courgette, red and yellow peppers, broccoli and the ubiquitous potato.
A huge dietary bomb that went off this year though, is my new-found and dreadfully powerful lactose intolerance. I've never been able to eat cheese (because I hate that stuff man), but now even milk is making me feel ill. I'm sure I don't need to go into any sort of detail about the after-effects, but to put it bluntly I WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO EAT PIZZA AND ICE CREAM EVER AGAIN. See, my life can be sad as well. And I'm serious. If I have too much lactose then it upsets my innards for the whole of the next day, it really isn't worth it anymore. I even bought soya milk today because I just can't hack it anymore.
But waaaaait a minute I don't do any exercise? Did I say that? Well, not really. I do a little bit of walking every day, but truthfully I just... don't bother. I'm really lazy. I'm sorry. I know there will be quite a lot of people out there who will just straight up hate me for that, but there it is. Sorry not sorry. Remember that I start to lose weight if I miss just the one meal a day though, and how much that might make you want to sit the hell still if you had that problem as well. I need to eat a lot as well, because, well... I can eat a lot before I put the weight on. That's all the exercise I need to think about for the next week or so, I think I'll be okay. I know it seems harsh and that I'm celebrating this fact but put your knives away. I live with people who go through various stages of gym obsession and protein intake and to be perfectly honest I ain't into that shit man. It's not part of my life, and even though I live with the others I don't feel remotely persuaded to sign up.
Basically I'm quite pleased with my health. I don't get ill that often, avoid food poisoning and lactose products, drink a hundredweight in tea every week and have takeout food whenever I can afford it because I don't need to worry about my weight increasing beyond any rational control. I'm pretty happy. There. I said it!
That's all. For now.
For years and years I have been underweight. In fact, I went through an episode a few months ago where I almost lost all the weight I'd spent the last year putting on, but I've managed to recover since. The thing is, I have an extremely high metabolic rate, just one of the many blessings of being hyperactive (alongside recurring insomnia, high blood pressure &c &c...). Boiled down to fact though, it basically means I can eat whatever the hell I want, when I want and not have to worry about my waistline. Actually, I have to consider in the opposite direction - if I miss out meals I drop pounds distressingly quickly!
However, I have managed to reclaim some weight after the long wilderness years of having to have everything taken in and looking like a sack tied round the middle when I finally find a belt. Part of the reason I started wearing three piece suits was to hide my terrifyingly thin waistline. I have never been anorexic by any respect, but for saying I'm a good 5' 9", I ought to be more than ten stone at least. Having wasted years of my life looking for 26" waists, it feels good to finally be in adult sizes... Aha! I now actually have to deal with half of my trousers and shorts actually being to small for me, which is an odd sensation to say the least.
How do I maintain this svelte and desirable physique? Well, to begin with, it is not desirable. Wiry rather than muscular, and without much, if anything in the way of fat. I like to think that actually I eat a pretty balanced diet overall, I don't have the world's highest fruit and or vegetable intake by any respect (especially in comparison to the vegetarian girls I have dated in the past, I mean who eats tofu anyway). I eat a lot in the way of stir fry, because it means I can basically control the texture and amount of vegetables I eat. Things like onions, leeks, calabrese, mushrooms and very rarely carrot are thrown in to my usual favourites of meat (usually turkey) and rice. I'm not really a fan of boiled green vegetables, especially brussell sprouts, and can't really stand carrots either (orange death sticks AWAY WITH THEM). I also eat a lot of curried food, and specialise in making my own onion paste by hand, or with the benefit of a food processor to grind up onion, garlic and ginger (in unmeasured amounts, as long as there's more onion in the balance it all works out in the end). I actually haven't made curry by hand for a long time. Poor form! However, whenever I do make curry I always pad it out with veg, things like onions quartered and thrown in, maybe courgette, red and yellow peppers, broccoli and the ubiquitous potato.
A huge dietary bomb that went off this year though, is my new-found and dreadfully powerful lactose intolerance. I've never been able to eat cheese (because I hate that stuff man), but now even milk is making me feel ill. I'm sure I don't need to go into any sort of detail about the after-effects, but to put it bluntly I WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO EAT PIZZA AND ICE CREAM EVER AGAIN. See, my life can be sad as well. And I'm serious. If I have too much lactose then it upsets my innards for the whole of the next day, it really isn't worth it anymore. I even bought soya milk today because I just can't hack it anymore.
But waaaaait a minute I don't do any exercise? Did I say that? Well, not really. I do a little bit of walking every day, but truthfully I just... don't bother. I'm really lazy. I'm sorry. I know there will be quite a lot of people out there who will just straight up hate me for that, but there it is. Sorry not sorry. Remember that I start to lose weight if I miss just the one meal a day though, and how much that might make you want to sit the hell still if you had that problem as well. I need to eat a lot as well, because, well... I can eat a lot before I put the weight on. That's all the exercise I need to think about for the next week or so, I think I'll be okay. I know it seems harsh and that I'm celebrating this fact but put your knives away. I live with people who go through various stages of gym obsession and protein intake and to be perfectly honest I ain't into that shit man. It's not part of my life, and even though I live with the others I don't feel remotely persuaded to sign up.
Basically I'm quite pleased with my health. I don't get ill that often, avoid food poisoning and lactose products, drink a hundredweight in tea every week and have takeout food whenever I can afford it because I don't need to worry about my weight increasing beyond any rational control. I'm pretty happy. There. I said it!
That's all. For now.
Sunday, 5 May 2013
Five Fave Blogs
I am so behind on this. I miss one day out and then spend the next day recovering from the resulting hangover and then... Unbeknownst to me, there are people waiting on my posts! Amazing.
Let's get straight back to it though, there's only one way I can make up the deficit and that's by actually getting words down here. Today's topic (because it's still the 4th on my writing timetable) is my five favourite blogs. This is actually quite a tough one, because I'm not sure if I regularly read five different blogs. Let's proceed. I EVEN NAME NAMES THIS TIME.
My number one favourite blog has to be, without a doubt, is Berkeley Girl. I've linked to this blog more than enough times before, and I'm serious that straight up I actually cannot get enough of how Emily writes. Unsurprisingly she is in fact a lit. student at my very own alma mater, the University of East Anglia. To say I enjoy her work is an understatement, and she has a huge advantage of having content to die for I mean Jesus H. Christ what I would give to have been able to study in America... Now though, she has come to the end of her year abroad, and everything will change again. I hope that she will continue blogging even when she's back! Her style is so enjoyable and so personal, kind of like mine but... much better! She actually knows how to write and her prose shines because of it. I am merely a self-taught hack, and the difference is staggering (okay maybe I'm getting a bit over excited), but I enjoy reading her work very much.
Onwards. Number two. Fit To Practice is curated by one of my very best friends in all the world, Dr. Fahmy. Mark's writing is pithy, humourous and often deeply touching. My friend has a way with words that is simply enviable, and in all honesty was probably a huge inspiration in reviving my blogging from the archive of terrible nonsense that was my Myspace page (which probably still exists, actually but the hell if I can remember the password). I deleted my Myspace blog a good long time ago now, actually, mostly because it was... shit. I didn't know that Mark had a blog for a long time, actually. He has a much more substantial archive than I do, even though he took a huge hiatus while he, you know, did a real degree (he is a legit doctor of medicine you know). I should take classes from this guy or something, and once again, a deeply involved and exciting academic and medical life, not even to mention his dramatic exploits are a worthy and entertaining read.
Number three is a little different, and I'm pleased to see a new post after another lengthy hiatus of his own. Me and My ramblings by Ed is completely different in style to the previous entries on this list. I used to live with Ed in my third year in halls. He was in the flat next door, and I'm glad to say that I've been able to stay in contact with him over the past two years, especially now as he nears the end of his undergraduate career. His writing style is much more... direct. We all write as we speak, but reading his blog is almost like having a conversation with him. It's so refreshing! Direct accessibility is Ed's major strength and reading about his triumphs and his struggles like the rest of us is quite enjoyable. His posts are quite short in comparison to say, mine, but the brevity is no bad thing! I often wonder about the fact that my posts are quite lengthy... I digress. I'm supposed to be extolling Ed. He's a really great guy actually, and a good friend I can trust.
So there's the big three! The next one is somebody I don't know, but has sent me a personal message before (OH MY GOD LIFE COMPLETE). Wayne Gladstone also writes a regular column for the American humor website Cracked, and I really love his stuff. He's written much more than just comedy columns, and has a video series called Hate by Numbers that he funds with donations from the public. This guy... I don't even know him, but his material speaks well for itself. Hate by Numbers is a real favourite of mine, and every time a new one comes out I share the link. I'm sad to say I haven't donated to the cause yet, but that's because I don't really have anything even approaching disposable income. I guess there's something there about the price of everything and the value of nothing, but I dunno. Gladstone is an class act, and it may not surprise you to find out that he's Jewish, because let's face it, all the best things are Jewish.
I guess my fifth and final favourite blog is run by another American, Mr. John DeVore. He's written for several websites, and I try and keep track of his work because I enjoy it so much! He's a real funny guy as well. He used to run a column called The Mind of Man which is where I was introduced to him. I don't see too much of John's extended writing these days - the link on his name there will take you to his latest tumblr offering, where things are a little more... I dunno, irreverent? Instead of extended pieces, they're more mini blogs, a short burst of good humor!
I guess that's it for the top five. I follow quite a few through my Reading List on my Blogspot dash. I wouldn't have even have found out about this BEDM madness were it not for following Jodie, who runs a far more aesthetically pleasing blog than I do! I'm still making up the deficit, so hopefully I'll be able to post tonight as well and finally get back on track! I hope you too find some enjoyment from my favourite blogs as well.
That's all. For now.
Let's get straight back to it though, there's only one way I can make up the deficit and that's by actually getting words down here. Today's topic (because it's still the 4th on my writing timetable) is my five favourite blogs. This is actually quite a tough one, because I'm not sure if I regularly read five different blogs. Let's proceed. I EVEN NAME NAMES THIS TIME.
My number one favourite blog has to be, without a doubt, is Berkeley Girl. I've linked to this blog more than enough times before, and I'm serious that straight up I actually cannot get enough of how Emily writes. Unsurprisingly she is in fact a lit. student at my very own alma mater, the University of East Anglia. To say I enjoy her work is an understatement, and she has a huge advantage of having content to die for I mean Jesus H. Christ what I would give to have been able to study in America... Now though, she has come to the end of her year abroad, and everything will change again. I hope that she will continue blogging even when she's back! Her style is so enjoyable and so personal, kind of like mine but... much better! She actually knows how to write and her prose shines because of it. I am merely a self-taught hack, and the difference is staggering (okay maybe I'm getting a bit over excited), but I enjoy reading her work very much.
Onwards. Number two. Fit To Practice is curated by one of my very best friends in all the world, Dr. Fahmy. Mark's writing is pithy, humourous and often deeply touching. My friend has a way with words that is simply enviable, and in all honesty was probably a huge inspiration in reviving my blogging from the archive of terrible nonsense that was my Myspace page (which probably still exists, actually but the hell if I can remember the password). I deleted my Myspace blog a good long time ago now, actually, mostly because it was... shit. I didn't know that Mark had a blog for a long time, actually. He has a much more substantial archive than I do, even though he took a huge hiatus while he, you know, did a real degree (he is a legit doctor of medicine you know). I should take classes from this guy or something, and once again, a deeply involved and exciting academic and medical life, not even to mention his dramatic exploits are a worthy and entertaining read.
Number three is a little different, and I'm pleased to see a new post after another lengthy hiatus of his own. Me and My ramblings by Ed is completely different in style to the previous entries on this list. I used to live with Ed in my third year in halls. He was in the flat next door, and I'm glad to say that I've been able to stay in contact with him over the past two years, especially now as he nears the end of his undergraduate career. His writing style is much more... direct. We all write as we speak, but reading his blog is almost like having a conversation with him. It's so refreshing! Direct accessibility is Ed's major strength and reading about his triumphs and his struggles like the rest of us is quite enjoyable. His posts are quite short in comparison to say, mine, but the brevity is no bad thing! I often wonder about the fact that my posts are quite lengthy... I digress. I'm supposed to be extolling Ed. He's a really great guy actually, and a good friend I can trust.
So there's the big three! The next one is somebody I don't know, but has sent me a personal message before (OH MY GOD LIFE COMPLETE). Wayne Gladstone also writes a regular column for the American humor website Cracked, and I really love his stuff. He's written much more than just comedy columns, and has a video series called Hate by Numbers that he funds with donations from the public. This guy... I don't even know him, but his material speaks well for itself. Hate by Numbers is a real favourite of mine, and every time a new one comes out I share the link. I'm sad to say I haven't donated to the cause yet, but that's because I don't really have anything even approaching disposable income. I guess there's something there about the price of everything and the value of nothing, but I dunno. Gladstone is an class act, and it may not surprise you to find out that he's Jewish, because let's face it, all the best things are Jewish.
I guess my fifth and final favourite blog is run by another American, Mr. John DeVore. He's written for several websites, and I try and keep track of his work because I enjoy it so much! He's a real funny guy as well. He used to run a column called The Mind of Man which is where I was introduced to him. I don't see too much of John's extended writing these days - the link on his name there will take you to his latest tumblr offering, where things are a little more... I dunno, irreverent? Instead of extended pieces, they're more mini blogs, a short burst of good humor!
I guess that's it for the top five. I follow quite a few through my Reading List on my Blogspot dash. I wouldn't have even have found out about this BEDM madness were it not for following Jodie, who runs a far more aesthetically pleasing blog than I do! I'm still making up the deficit, so hopefully I'll be able to post tonight as well and finally get back on track! I hope you too find some enjoyment from my favourite blogs as well.
That's all. For now.
A Day in the Life
This is more than a little over due, mainly because yesterday just kind of... spun out of control! You know when even the planned eventualities seem to melt away into an entropic envelope of pure unpredictability? Yeah, that.
Friday the 3rd of May began at 5:30 in the morning for me. I had slept with the curtains open deliberately because I was rather more worried than I should have been about oversleeping (for reasons about to become apparent), but in fact so woefully overplanned that I wound up being awake for almost an entire 24 hours! We, The Scholars, were contracted to sing as the sample demonstration choir for an event at the Hotel Bristol in Newquay, as part of the ongoing International Male Voice Choir Festival that's happening down here at the moment. We were on stage in front of a pretty small crowd of representatives from several of the choirs (it's not as if they were wearing badges or anything), reeling out the samples of arrangements that had been laid on by the featured artistes. I wasn't particularly enjoying myself at the early part of this engagement, not feeling that I was particularly important to the proceedings as a whole, or indeed a necessary part of The Scholars as a group - the latter being a particular recurring problem.
My fortunes changed after the coffee break (where I could at least top up on my flagging tannic acid reserves deep within) and we returned to the stage to discover a small gift in the shape of five new pieces that we had never seen before. The Shock! THE HORROR. This second session was led by a mad Welshman (or a 'mad, Welsh man' if you like), whose arrangements, especially of the five new songs, were much more in a Barbershop style texture, rather than the usual stereotypical Male Voice Choir thick texture, with low thirds and the tune in the 1st Tenor. In fact, the 1st Tenor parts were positively stratospheric at some points! A much better use of bringing a countertenor. Personally, I relished the chance to sight sing like that, and I don't think that the mistakes that we made reflect badly on us; it was understood that we'd never seen them before and we definitely acquitted ourselves with decorum and no small skill. Given a previous rehearsal session and we would have been able to present them with the usual polish and professionalism, of course.
Singing these arrangements reminded me of how much I love that Barbershop sound, and even led to me saying (without a hint of sarcasm) that I'm in the wrong game. I am a highly skilled countertenor, with great breath control and still having control of the top end of my voice, being able to present a top F without it sounding awful, and still having the emergency G and A for, uh, special occasions. However, I digress.
We went to the Beach. That's all you need to know really, the sea air and sandy seats, videoing the other Choral Bollards as they rolled down a sandbank in races, one of which involved them running around the Lifeguard van at the shoreline, presumably to the amusement of the occupants! We returned to Truro not too late in order to join the rest of the Cathedral Choir in a concert as part of... YOU GUESSED IT the Male Voice Choir Festival! Hooray! Once again, I, your first Alto, was all alone for the duration (I bloody love it, singing against a whole choir, I mean, I wouldn't ever be without my fellow Lay-Vicar, but still) and hopefully made a good essay of myself. After this, however, the alcohol began. All the booze. Well, not all of it. But lots of it. At least 4 pints of Theakstons XB (a fine beverage from near home!) went down very nicely, and then a kebab finish... But no, not the end of the night! Sat here, in squalid places, eating my delicious chicken kebab, I was telephoned by a friend and ended up sat up until FIVE O'CLOCK in the morning. Talking and laughing while drinking a LOT of Amaretto and Coke. I managed to stumble home at about 5:10am, meaning that in all probability, I was awake for 24 straight hours. Unbelievable! 24 hours. The resulting hangover from drinking that is actually still raging away really, but I suppose I shall survive. I mean, I've lived through worse, right?
That's all. For now.
Friday the 3rd of May began at 5:30 in the morning for me. I had slept with the curtains open deliberately because I was rather more worried than I should have been about oversleeping (for reasons about to become apparent), but in fact so woefully overplanned that I wound up being awake for almost an entire 24 hours! We, The Scholars, were contracted to sing as the sample demonstration choir for an event at the Hotel Bristol in Newquay, as part of the ongoing International Male Voice Choir Festival that's happening down here at the moment. We were on stage in front of a pretty small crowd of representatives from several of the choirs (it's not as if they were wearing badges or anything), reeling out the samples of arrangements that had been laid on by the featured artistes. I wasn't particularly enjoying myself at the early part of this engagement, not feeling that I was particularly important to the proceedings as a whole, or indeed a necessary part of The Scholars as a group - the latter being a particular recurring problem.
My fortunes changed after the coffee break (where I could at least top up on my flagging tannic acid reserves deep within) and we returned to the stage to discover a small gift in the shape of five new pieces that we had never seen before. The Shock! THE HORROR. This second session was led by a mad Welshman (or a 'mad, Welsh man' if you like), whose arrangements, especially of the five new songs, were much more in a Barbershop style texture, rather than the usual stereotypical Male Voice Choir thick texture, with low thirds and the tune in the 1st Tenor. In fact, the 1st Tenor parts were positively stratospheric at some points! A much better use of bringing a countertenor. Personally, I relished the chance to sight sing like that, and I don't think that the mistakes that we made reflect badly on us; it was understood that we'd never seen them before and we definitely acquitted ourselves with decorum and no small skill. Given a previous rehearsal session and we would have been able to present them with the usual polish and professionalism, of course.
Singing these arrangements reminded me of how much I love that Barbershop sound, and even led to me saying (without a hint of sarcasm) that I'm in the wrong game. I am a highly skilled countertenor, with great breath control and still having control of the top end of my voice, being able to present a top F without it sounding awful, and still having the emergency G and A for, uh, special occasions. However, I digress.
We went to the Beach. That's all you need to know really, the sea air and sandy seats, videoing the other Choral Bollards as they rolled down a sandbank in races, one of which involved them running around the Lifeguard van at the shoreline, presumably to the amusement of the occupants! We returned to Truro not too late in order to join the rest of the Cathedral Choir in a concert as part of... YOU GUESSED IT the Male Voice Choir Festival! Hooray! Once again, I, your first Alto, was all alone for the duration (I bloody love it, singing against a whole choir, I mean, I wouldn't ever be without my fellow Lay-Vicar, but still) and hopefully made a good essay of myself. After this, however, the alcohol began. All the booze. Well, not all of it. But lots of it. At least 4 pints of Theakstons XB (a fine beverage from near home!) went down very nicely, and then a kebab finish... But no, not the end of the night! Sat here, in squalid places, eating my delicious chicken kebab, I was telephoned by a friend and ended up sat up until FIVE O'CLOCK in the morning. Talking and laughing while drinking a LOT of Amaretto and Coke. I managed to stumble home at about 5:10am, meaning that in all probability, I was awake for 24 straight hours. Unbelievable! 24 hours. The resulting hangover from drinking that is actually still raging away really, but I suppose I shall survive. I mean, I've lived through worse, right?
That's all. For now.
Friday, 3 May 2013
Spring is Here!
Finally, the weather has turned! After a bumper serving of winter (that almost lead me to the conclusion that we were in the grip of the Norse Fimbulvetr, but no seems we're safe after all (it was only two successive winters after all). Actually I have felt the upturn in temperature since at least the End of February, I mean, why else would I sleep with the window open every day...
I'm not sure if I could name one favourite thing about spring, one singular facet of a season that really does it for me. I'm not indecisive I just can't decide. Bright sunshine but a chilly shade, calm days that become breezy evenings, and sunburn for the unprepared. I'm looking forward to the eventual appearance of the fabled 'Cornish Summer' in maybe a month's time, although the extra serving of winter we received has pushed everything back, and reinforces the view that we don't so much have seasons here, but just weather. Hopefully though, this spell of warm and sunny weather is here to stay and improve, rather than the usual brief window of sunshine followed by yet another wintery blast.
It is the beginning of May after all, and there's a lot to come. This is of course the Trinity Term in the old style, the last term before the summer vacation dawns, with a lot to do here at the stall. This year's Compact Disc recording is happening in a mere two weeks(!!!), a disc consisting of commissions and pieces dedicated or associated with Truro Cathedral Choir. Composers such as Russell Pascoe, Graham Fitkin and Philip Stopford will stand alongside Francis Pott and Gabriel Jackson in what promises to be a testing three day recording session. On the 25th I'll be singing in a Gala concert at Lanhydrock, where not only will I roll out the usual, boring Countertenor fare of Dowland songs (sexed up by being sung by me, of course, a hugely attractive Victorian-Facial-Hair-revivalist, and accompanied by Piano rather than bothering with all that Lute rubbish), but also a nice little set of fin de siecle and twentieth century songs (Charles Ives, Samuel Barber, Michael Head), and the unenviable duty of rounding the whole thing off with Purcell's incomparable Evening Hymn. There will also be other delights, from assorted Sopranos, Bass, Clarinet solos and some soupy-sounding Mendelssohn duets, where I sub in for a missing Mezzo. God, they're awful those duets.
Looking further ahead, to the last midterm, I hope to invite the Admiral down to The Scholary for a well-deserved holiday. There are quite a few people beginning to suffer from end-of-term syndrome already, as the accepted view of reality starts to break down and the next move suddenly and quite terrifyingly becomes vital. A lot of people I know down here are actually moving on to University, including half of the Scholars, while my flatmates are graduating. It's bizarre, being in this sort of position. Knowing that my flatmates from my third year are graduating this summer, (and also those on their years abroad coming back for the last push) and having my last probationer from Derby Cathedral finish his first year at Uni as well, makes me feel absolutely ancient. This April just past also marks the 15th anniversary of singing in the Church of England, which is quite a milestone! I guess it's the start of Trinity when I first started as a Probationer, and I'm still going, somehow!
The rise in temperature and increase in sunlit hours has also meant that I can get the legs out! It's the simple things, eh? Soon enough the ground will dry out properly and I'll be able to wear my moccasins outside...!
Stay tuned for more BEDM bedlam, I might try and branch out into a few photo posts, but I doubt I'll have the chutzpah for a vlog. I mean, it's bad enough having to read all this, right? Let alone listen to ME actually SAYING it!
That's all. For now.
I'm not sure if I could name one favourite thing about spring, one singular facet of a season that really does it for me. I'm not indecisive I just can't decide. Bright sunshine but a chilly shade, calm days that become breezy evenings, and sunburn for the unprepared. I'm looking forward to the eventual appearance of the fabled 'Cornish Summer' in maybe a month's time, although the extra serving of winter we received has pushed everything back, and reinforces the view that we don't so much have seasons here, but just weather. Hopefully though, this spell of warm and sunny weather is here to stay and improve, rather than the usual brief window of sunshine followed by yet another wintery blast.
It is the beginning of May after all, and there's a lot to come. This is of course the Trinity Term in the old style, the last term before the summer vacation dawns, with a lot to do here at the stall. This year's Compact Disc recording is happening in a mere two weeks(!!!), a disc consisting of commissions and pieces dedicated or associated with Truro Cathedral Choir. Composers such as Russell Pascoe, Graham Fitkin and Philip Stopford will stand alongside Francis Pott and Gabriel Jackson in what promises to be a testing three day recording session. On the 25th I'll be singing in a Gala concert at Lanhydrock, where not only will I roll out the usual, boring Countertenor fare of Dowland songs (sexed up by being sung by me, of course, a hugely attractive Victorian-Facial-Hair-revivalist, and accompanied by Piano rather than bothering with all that Lute rubbish), but also a nice little set of fin de siecle and twentieth century songs (Charles Ives, Samuel Barber, Michael Head), and the unenviable duty of rounding the whole thing off with Purcell's incomparable Evening Hymn. There will also be other delights, from assorted Sopranos, Bass, Clarinet solos and some soupy-sounding Mendelssohn duets, where I sub in for a missing Mezzo. God, they're awful those duets.
Looking further ahead, to the last midterm, I hope to invite the Admiral down to The Scholary for a well-deserved holiday. There are quite a few people beginning to suffer from end-of-term syndrome already, as the accepted view of reality starts to break down and the next move suddenly and quite terrifyingly becomes vital. A lot of people I know down here are actually moving on to University, including half of the Scholars, while my flatmates are graduating. It's bizarre, being in this sort of position. Knowing that my flatmates from my third year are graduating this summer, (and also those on their years abroad coming back for the last push) and having my last probationer from Derby Cathedral finish his first year at Uni as well, makes me feel absolutely ancient. This April just past also marks the 15th anniversary of singing in the Church of England, which is quite a milestone! I guess it's the start of Trinity when I first started as a Probationer, and I'm still going, somehow!
The rise in temperature and increase in sunlit hours has also meant that I can get the legs out! It's the simple things, eh? Soon enough the ground will dry out properly and I'll be able to wear my moccasins outside...!
Stay tuned for more BEDM bedlam, I might try and branch out into a few photo posts, but I doubt I'll have the chutzpah for a vlog. I mean, it's bad enough having to read all this, right? Let alone listen to ME actually SAYING it!
That's all. For now.
Thursday, 2 May 2013
Five Lines
Off the back of the post I published almost 24 hours ago, I ran across this 'Blog Every Day in May' (or BEDM hereafter) idea. Seeing as I had just fought through a fortnight of just having no luck when faced with the blank page (ah yes, the blank page... the only natural predator the writer has), regardless of what sort of ideas I may have happened upon, so I'm willing to give this a whirl. I will push through!
The point of this venture for myself, is to get as much practice as possible. I still enjoy writing (which is why I get so disappointed when I can't), and while the weekly update format has been working out, I'm willing to give this a place in my schedule. Maybe it'll open newer creative paths in my mind, and it wouldn't hurt to start new habits in making personal content. I always write of myself, and not to an audience per se; I'm certainly unfamiliar with having to tailor content specifically, unlike every student of English Literature EVER. You can find out more about the project here, and discover other people who are taking the plunge. I might even get to sort my typing out, the spelling for which has become a little lacklustre in the intervening fortnight.
Anyway, here follows myself, in five lines. I won't include a photo in the post, because two photographs that I am proud of are on my blog page anyway: The Organ front of Derby Cathedral, where I served for 10 years with a choral education I am proud of to this day, even surrounded by budding opera students, elects of collegiate choirs and Choir School choristers. The other photo is of myself playing the beautifully voiced organ in the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, in Salle, Norfolk. Built in 1912, it is a midget gem in an Arts and Crafts style case from the once great Norfolk Organ Builders: Norman and Beard.
My name is Paul-Ethan Bright, but I tell people to call me 'Peb'. I don't like being called 'Paul'. I'm a Choral Scholar who hardly ever listens to choirs, and I play Bach's 'Cello suites on the Tenor Banjo. I used to be an Organ Scholar before I came to Truro. I'm going to get my first tattoo this year, once I've finally decided what to get and where it'll go. I often describe myself as a failing writer, but that's only because I don't get paid for it! Some of my closest friends are miles away from me, but I will always make them feel welcome.
Okay. I think I'm happy with that. It's very difficult for me to describe myself, as I never really think about me, and am still fascinated that the reflection in the mirror is in fact, my own self. I hope you'll join me as I stick to the schedule. I'll be writing and posting my own original material as well, so do keep tuning in. I'll be using the #BEDM tag for each one of these, even though it'll be just as easy to go to the 'May' part of the archive thru the sidebar. I'll sign off with one of my favourite Jewish writer's catchphrases.
That's all. For now.
The point of this venture for myself, is to get as much practice as possible. I still enjoy writing (which is why I get so disappointed when I can't), and while the weekly update format has been working out, I'm willing to give this a place in my schedule. Maybe it'll open newer creative paths in my mind, and it wouldn't hurt to start new habits in making personal content. I always write of myself, and not to an audience per se; I'm certainly unfamiliar with having to tailor content specifically, unlike every student of English Literature EVER. You can find out more about the project here, and discover other people who are taking the plunge. I might even get to sort my typing out, the spelling for which has become a little lacklustre in the intervening fortnight.
Anyway, here follows myself, in five lines. I won't include a photo in the post, because two photographs that I am proud of are on my blog page anyway: The Organ front of Derby Cathedral, where I served for 10 years with a choral education I am proud of to this day, even surrounded by budding opera students, elects of collegiate choirs and Choir School choristers. The other photo is of myself playing the beautifully voiced organ in the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, in Salle, Norfolk. Built in 1912, it is a midget gem in an Arts and Crafts style case from the once great Norfolk Organ Builders: Norman and Beard.
My name is Paul-Ethan Bright, but I tell people to call me 'Peb'. I don't like being called 'Paul'. I'm a Choral Scholar who hardly ever listens to choirs, and I play Bach's 'Cello suites on the Tenor Banjo. I used to be an Organ Scholar before I came to Truro. I'm going to get my first tattoo this year, once I've finally decided what to get and where it'll go. I often describe myself as a failing writer, but that's only because I don't get paid for it! Some of my closest friends are miles away from me, but I will always make them feel welcome.
Okay. I think I'm happy with that. It's very difficult for me to describe myself, as I never really think about me, and am still fascinated that the reflection in the mirror is in fact, my own self. I hope you'll join me as I stick to the schedule. I'll be writing and posting my own original material as well, so do keep tuning in. I'll be using the #BEDM tag for each one of these, even though it'll be just as easy to go to the 'May' part of the archive thru the sidebar. I'll sign off with one of my favourite Jewish writer's catchphrases.
That's all. For now.
Wednesday, 1 May 2013
Writer's Block
Right.
I have got awful writer's block, like, I had a good five hundred words going on and then just deleted all of it because it's just all dross and I can't actually say what I mean at all. Let's look at this fortnight in review for now though, and see all the things that I could have written about instead:
MY MOTHER CAME TO VISIT which was brilliant and hilarious. I totally wasn't expecting her to visit at all, never mind appearing in evensong last Wednesday. We have gone hither and yon to the beach and back with the world's stupidest (but arguably nicest) dog, argued, made up, but mostly just had a great laugh. I miss my mother more than I will admit to because NOW I AM AN ADULT (I pay my own phonebill yah) and this is about the fifth year I've lived away from home (although I have never lived on my own properly, not that I will be able to afford such a luxury in Cornwall...).
I SPENT £100 IN A WEEK that wasn't solely on alcohol or curry. Suit cleaning, singing lessons, mobile telephone bill and jewellery repair. I finally got my Hardie Amies suit sorted out, splashing out an a ridiculous "Executive Service" from Johnsons the cleaners complete with the utterly decadent option of having the creases put back in my trousers. What a pervert. I also got my little gold ring soldered back together which now once more adorns my right 4th finger where it belongs, after its mysterious disappearance waaaaaay back in... October? I dunno. That whole Michaelmas term was pretty dark. But anyway! It's back, back I say. I have three rings and now three wooden bracelets, alongside my two silver chains, so I can safely say I regularly wear the most in decorative items in probably the whole choir.
I HELPED PAINT A WALL for my friends who are trying to establish a new Bar on the end of Old Bridge Street. After a less than satisfactory Friday night, I resigned myself to wandering around Truro in some sort of lost and aimless fashion, thinking that perhaps some retail therapy could aid my ailing spirits...but no, not this week so I instead reported to the site of the Nightjar in my appointed paint gear, and got stuck in getting paint on walls, myself. It was a distinctly enjoyable way to spend a Saturday, actually, a lot of laughs and a lot got done. I enjoy helping people.
I'M PREPARING FOR A CONCERT in front of the general public not in the Cathedral, although I can't exactly remember who for... It's some sort of fundraiser for one of the opera troupes that operates round here, I'm not terribly bothered about the whys and wherefores (unsurprisingly), more the fact that I'm going to get to sing Charles Ives' setting of feldeinsamkeit in public again. It's all good experience, and I'm sure once I get through this period of lacking my usual creative spirit, I'll be able to write about just why this is so important in the face of my current choice of becoming a more permanent part of Truro Cathedral Choir.
This has gone through about three working drafts, and two total deletions (META WRITING), and I'm still not happy with it. I feel... that I should write, that it is my duty to keep publishing - of course there will be those of you who will argue that it stifles creativity, but I'm disappointed that the first thing I'm going to publish in a fortnight is this weak effort! I suppose I will be judging it far more harshly than you might, but all the same, the last time I went through that many redrafts, it was my dissertation and we all remember how much fun I had trying to write THAT at 3am on the 8th of April, 2011. Of course my plans for ink move at about the same pace, being rather reliant on being able to afford the stuff at the moment. And seriously guys, don't you worry out there. I'm okay, it's still me: I can't get a date. I'm sure I'll be able to look back on these years with some amusement... but now is not that time. I'm perfectly prepared to be bitter and angry about the last five years of romantic near-misses for the duration. Thanks.
But that's enough for now. If I write any more, I shall only delete it, try to start over and then just give up for another week. My spelling has been awful for the duration as well, to an infuriating level. I'm still writing that piece about Killer7, so that'll go up at some point in the future, if I ever edit it to a satisfactory level.
For now though... Oy.
I have got awful writer's block, like, I had a good five hundred words going on and then just deleted all of it because it's just all dross and I can't actually say what I mean at all. Let's look at this fortnight in review for now though, and see all the things that I could have written about instead:
MY MOTHER CAME TO VISIT which was brilliant and hilarious. I totally wasn't expecting her to visit at all, never mind appearing in evensong last Wednesday. We have gone hither and yon to the beach and back with the world's stupidest (but arguably nicest) dog, argued, made up, but mostly just had a great laugh. I miss my mother more than I will admit to because NOW I AM AN ADULT (I pay my own phonebill yah) and this is about the fifth year I've lived away from home (although I have never lived on my own properly, not that I will be able to afford such a luxury in Cornwall...).
I SPENT £100 IN A WEEK that wasn't solely on alcohol or curry. Suit cleaning, singing lessons, mobile telephone bill and jewellery repair. I finally got my Hardie Amies suit sorted out, splashing out an a ridiculous "Executive Service" from Johnsons the cleaners complete with the utterly decadent option of having the creases put back in my trousers. What a pervert. I also got my little gold ring soldered back together which now once more adorns my right 4th finger where it belongs, after its mysterious disappearance waaaaaay back in... October? I dunno. That whole Michaelmas term was pretty dark. But anyway! It's back, back I say. I have three rings and now three wooden bracelets, alongside my two silver chains, so I can safely say I regularly wear the most in decorative items in probably the whole choir.
I HELPED PAINT A WALL for my friends who are trying to establish a new Bar on the end of Old Bridge Street. After a less than satisfactory Friday night, I resigned myself to wandering around Truro in some sort of lost and aimless fashion, thinking that perhaps some retail therapy could aid my ailing spirits...but no, not this week so I instead reported to the site of the Nightjar in my appointed paint gear, and got stuck in getting paint on walls, myself. It was a distinctly enjoyable way to spend a Saturday, actually, a lot of laughs and a lot got done. I enjoy helping people.
I'M PREPARING FOR A CONCERT in front of the general public not in the Cathedral, although I can't exactly remember who for... It's some sort of fundraiser for one of the opera troupes that operates round here, I'm not terribly bothered about the whys and wherefores (unsurprisingly), more the fact that I'm going to get to sing Charles Ives' setting of feldeinsamkeit in public again. It's all good experience, and I'm sure once I get through this period of lacking my usual creative spirit, I'll be able to write about just why this is so important in the face of my current choice of becoming a more permanent part of Truro Cathedral Choir.
This has gone through about three working drafts, and two total deletions (META WRITING), and I'm still not happy with it. I feel... that I should write, that it is my duty to keep publishing - of course there will be those of you who will argue that it stifles creativity, but I'm disappointed that the first thing I'm going to publish in a fortnight is this weak effort! I suppose I will be judging it far more harshly than you might, but all the same, the last time I went through that many redrafts, it was my dissertation and we all remember how much fun I had trying to write THAT at 3am on the 8th of April, 2011. Of course my plans for ink move at about the same pace, being rather reliant on being able to afford the stuff at the moment. And seriously guys, don't you worry out there. I'm okay, it's still me: I can't get a date. I'm sure I'll be able to look back on these years with some amusement... but now is not that time. I'm perfectly prepared to be bitter and angry about the last five years of romantic near-misses for the duration. Thanks.
But that's enough for now. If I write any more, I shall only delete it, try to start over and then just give up for another week. My spelling has been awful for the duration as well, to an infuriating level. I'm still writing that piece about Killer7, so that'll go up at some point in the future, if I ever edit it to a satisfactory level.
For now though... Oy.
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